Circular-knitting machine



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

M. GERINSHYM. CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

No. 462,546. Patented Nov. 3, 1891.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

M. GERNSHYM. CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

No. 462,546. Patented Nov. 3, 1891.

%W/TNESSES: gm/r09.- fl lw Mp 7% i I Q N I 5% W A TTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAX GERNSHYM, OF BROOKLYN, NFHV YORK.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 462,546, dated November 3, 1891.

Application filed June 17, 1891. Serial No. 396,562. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MAX GERNSHYM, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Circular-Knitting Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to circular-knitting machines having plate-needles and cylinderneedles for producing ribbed tubular fabrics.

The object of the invention is to provide certain new and useful improvements in circular-knitting machines, whereby part of the tubular fabric produced is formed with a figured design according to a predetermined pattern, while the rest of the fabric is knitted in the usual manner in plain ribs with Cardigan or other stitch. lThe invention consists in forming either the cylinder or plate, or both, in sections, of which one is shifted to change the relative position of part of the cylinder and plate needles.

The invention further consists of patternwheels governing the movement of the movable section to reproduce on the fabric the pattern represented by the pattern-wheel.

The invention also consists of certain parts and details and combinations of the same, as willbe hereinafterdescribed, and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the improvement as applied, detailed parts of the ordinary knitting-machine being omit-ted. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the same on the line 00 0c in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the same 011 the lineyy in Fig.1. Fig. L t is an inverted plan view of the improvement, and Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the fabric produced.

The improved lniitting-machine is of the ordinary circular type and is provided with the usual bed-plate A, mounted on suitable legs A and carrying in its middle part the needle-plate B, on the top of which are fitted to slide the plateneedles 0, receiving their horizontal sliding motion in the usual manner from the cam D, mounted to revolve and provided with gear-teeth D in mesh with the gear-wheel E, secured 011 the main shaft E, mounted to turn in suitable hearings on the bed-plate A.

The needle-plate B is made in two sections 13 and B of which the section B is fixed, while the section B is fitted to slide, one or two needles being omitted at the adjoining ends of the said sections to permit sufficient movement of the section The camD for the plate-needles O is provided with the usual spider D mounted to turn on the spindle F, on the lower end of which is mounted to turn the cam-cylinder G, surrounded by the needlecylinder 11, carrying the vertical or cylinder needles I, operating in conjunction with the plate-needles G to produce the fabric. It will be seen that when the movable section B of the needle-plate is shifted its-needles change their position relative to the vertical or cylinder needles extending along the inner.

edge of the said movable section 13 Thus by varying the distance the section B is shifted relative to the vertical or cylinder needles I, a different design or pattern-work may be produced in that part of the fabric knitted by the needles contained in the section 13 and the corresponding vertical needles. The section B may be shifted, so that one of its needles moves the distance between two, three, four, or more vertical needles I to vary the design, as may be desired. A variation may also be produced by forming the needle-cylinder ll of two sections H and H of which the section II is fixed and theother section ll. is shifted circularly on the cylinder G. The section 1P is arranged in line with the section 15 so that the two sections, when shifted in opposite directions, shift the relative position of their needles to produce certain pattern-work. A like result may be produced by shifting the section I-Ponly, the section remaining stationaryor forming an integral part of the other section B, as in ordinary kniting-machines. It is understood that this shifting of the section B or I1 .or both, at the same time takes place, preferably, at every revolution of the cylinder G and the cam D, and at the time the needles 0 are in their innermost position and the needles I in their lowermost position. The cylinder G is earned along by a pm D engaging a projection on the said cylinder and held removably in the spider D of the cam D. (See Fig. 2.)

The segmental section B of the needleplate B is held in place by a series of plates J, fastened to or forming integral parts of the bed-plate A, as plainly illustrated in Fig. l. Each plate projects under the segmental section 13 and is provided with a slot J, through -which passes a screw J screwing in the section B The plates J thus form a bearing with the bed-plate A for the movable section B and the slots J permit movement of the screws J carried by the section B The shifting of the movable section B is accomplished by means of a lever K, fulcrumed at K on the bed-plate A and provided at itsinner end with a recess and set-screws K en.- gaging av projection K extending downward from the movable section B Theouter end of the lever K carries two pins or frictionrollers K engaging opposite faces of a pattern w'heeLL, secured on a shaft, N, mounted to turn in suitable bearingsheld in, brackets,

projecting from the bed-plate A.

The shaft N carries a ratchet-wheelO, engaged by apawlO, pivoted ona lever 0 f ulcrumed loosely on the shaft N, and carrying at, its free end a friction-roller 0 engaging a cam P, fastenedto the cam D for the plateneedles. Thus when the camtD rotates the cam P imparts a swinging motionto the lever 0. so that its pawl O, engaging the ratchet-wheel 0, turns the latter, and conse: quently the shaft N, carrying the pattern wheel L. according to the movement desired to be given the section B so that therotation of the said; pattern-wheel L imparts aswinging motion to thelever K, which, by engaging the sectionB shifts thelatter forward or backward to change the relative positions of the plate-needles carried by, the section B? rela tive to the corresponding verticalvor cylinderneedles operating in conjunction with the plate-needles carried by section B The cam P is arranged opposite that part of the cam-groove in the cam D by which the inward-sliding motion of the needle 0 isvac complished. (See Fig. 1.) If the section II of the needle-cylinder H is shifted for changing the design of part of the fabric, then a similar device is employedas above described, in reference, to the section B that is, a lever Q for shifting the said section and a pattern- Wheel L for operating-the said lever Q.

Thelever Q is fulcrumed at Q on the bedplate A, and carries at its outer end pins or. friction-rollers Qfiengaging opposite faces of the, pattern-wheel L. The inner end of the lever Q carries a grooved friction-roller Q engaging a vertical rib R, formed in the ring R, attached to the section H of the needle-cylinder H. It is understood that the connection between the lever Q and the section H is made in this manner, so that the fabric can pass down over the said needlecylinderthat is, between the friction-roller figured or pattern part on the fabric. further. be seent-hat instead of making either The latter is shaped on its faces.

Q and the ring R, at the same time permitting the lever Q to shift the section H whenever the said lever is actuated from the pattern-wheel L.

It is understood that both sections B and H can be operated simultaneously, but in opposite directions, by their levers K and Q and the pattern-wheels L and L, respectively. Either of the levers K or Q, however, maybe disconnected from its respective pattern-wheel, so that only one lever at a time operates its respective section to produce a It will the needle-plate or the needle-cylinder each in two sections, asabovedescribed, and illustrated in the drawings, each may be made in three or more sections to produce figured. or pattern work ondilferent partsof the fabric.

It is understood. that in case more than,

two sections are employed. several may be movable and the rest fixed, according to the work designed to be'finished on the machines. The fixed. and, movable sections are then preferably arranged, alternately.

As illustrated, in Fig. 5, the'fabricproduced is a Cardigan jacket, which. is made in tubu lar'form by the knitting-machine, then the front is cutopen, then the sleeves are inserted, and the same attached in the usual manner; but the front f of the cardigan has a design.

or pattern work, while the rear or. back part is of the ordinary ribbed style,

I arnaware that circular-knitting machines have been constructed in which the entireneedle-cylinder is shogged for forminga circular commencing course or a circular border on the fabric, and I am further aware that straight-knitting machines provided with sections capable of beingshogged have been in use; but such construction and the results obtained thereby areforeign to my. invention, and I do not claim the same.

The fabric produced bythis machine forms the subject-matter of, a, separate application filed by me under date of July 22,1891, Serial No. 400,294.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A circular-knitting machine provided with a. set of plate-needles, a set of cylinderneedles, and means for circularly shifting part of the said plate-needles and part of. the said cylinder-needles, substantially as shown and described.

2. A circular-knitting machine provided with a set of. cylinder-needles, andmeansfor circularly shifting part of the saidset of cylinder-needles, substantially as shown anddescribed.

3. A circular-knitting machine provided with a set ofplate-needles, and meansfor circularly shifting part of the said plate-needles, substantially as shown anddescribed.

4. A circular-knitting machine provided with a circular needle-plate composed of fixed and movable segmental sections, substantially as shown and described.

5. A circular-knitting machine provided with a circular needle-plate composed of a fixed segmental section and a movable section, and means for circularly shifting the movable section, substantially as shown and described.

6. A circular-knitting machine provided with a needlecylinder made of fixed and movable segmental sections, substantially as shown and described.

7. A circular-knitting machine provided with a needle-cylinder composed of fixed and movable segmental sections, and means for circularly shifting the said movable sections, substantially as shown and described.

8. A circular-knitting machine provided with a needle-cylinder made in fixed and circularly-movable sections, and a needle-plate composed of a fixed section and a section circularly movable relative to the said movable needle-cylinder section, substantially as shown and described.

9. In a circular-knitting machine, the combination, with a needle-plate composed of fixed and movable segmental sections, of a lever engaging the said movable section to move the same circularly, and a pattern-wheel for actuating the said lever, substantially as shown and described.

10. In a circular-knitting machine, the combination, with a needle-plate composed of a fixed section and a circularly-movable section,

11. In a circular-knitting machine, the combination, with the cylinder-needles, the needle-cylinder, and means for operating the cylinder-needles, of the cam for the plate-needles, the needle-plate made in sections, of

which one is fixed and the other movable, and

means for imparting motion to the movable section, substantially as shown and described.

12. In a circular-knitting machine, the combination, with the cylinder-needles, the needle-cylinder, and means for actuating the cyl- 5o inder-needles, of the cam for the plate-needles, the needle-plate made in fixed and movable segmental sections, and means, substantially as described, for imparting motion to the said movable section, comprising a lever connected 5 5 with the said movable section, and apatternwheel for actuating the said lever and recei ing its motion from the said cam for the plateneedles, substantially as shown and described.

13. In a circular-knitting machine, the combination, with the cylinder-needles, the neodle-cylinder, and means for actuating the cylinder-needles, of the cam for the plate-needles, the needle-plate made in fixed and movable segmental sections, means, substantially as described, for imparting motion to the said movable section, comprising a lever connected with the said movable section, and a patternwheel for actuating the said lever and receivingits motion from the said cam for the plate- 

